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I.C.A. 2012 Orchestral Competition Report

by Jeremy Reynolds

 
  Winners Edward Sundra and Patrick Graham

Another I.C.A. Orchestral Competition has come and gone with the final round for this year’s competition held on August 2, 2012, on the campus of University of Nebraska–Lincoln.  I first would like to extend a huge congratulation to Diane Barger and her artistic team of John Masserini and Denise Gainey for putting together such a wonderful conference.  I also want to thank Jay Gummert for running such a tight ship behind the scenes during the Orchestral Competition.

Last summer Peter Wright and the I.C.A. Board decided it was important to start incorporating the auxiliary instruments into the orchestral competition.  So this year we began the rotation with the bass clarinet drawing 11 applicants, all from the United States.  The judges for the preliminary rounds were James Zimmerman of the Nashville Symphony, John Klinghammer of the Omaha Symphony and Steve Sanchez of the San Francisco Symphony.  The judges chose five finalists:  Shandra Helman from Pocatello, ID; Richard Viglucci from Delmar, NY; Jessey Gilday from New York, NY; Edward Sundra from Merdia, PA and Patrick Graham from Orlando, FL.  These five finalists then played for Greg Oakes from Iowa State University, Jane Carl from University of Missouri–Kansas City and Steve Hanusofski from the Phoenix Symphony.  Patrick Graham was selected as the first-prize winner and Edward Sundra was chosen as the second-prize winner. 

Once the competition was finalized, the judges decided it would be of interest to talk about the importance of exactly how to audition for an orchestral position and what a committee is looking for when choosing their next clarinetist.  The judges first made some brief comments on what they heard during the competition finals, and then they shared their own individual experiences from their time in the orchestral world opening the floor up for questions. This was a new element to the event, and one that I hope we can continue in the future!

I would like to congratulate the winners and all of the applicants as well as all the judges for volunteering their time for the competition.  And lastly I need to thank Peter Wright for his hard work during the past four years and setting up a seamless transition as I started as the Coordinator of the Orchestral Competition.  Thank you Peter!  The repertoire for 2013 Orchestral Competition has already been posted, please check the I.C.A. website for details.  See you all at 2013 ClarinetFest® in Assisi. 

Judges Greg Oakes, Steve Hanusofski, Jane Carl